Putting Money on the Map

The FEC just released a new tool to make the campaign finance data they have on hand more accessible to and interpretable by the public. This new map feature gives a visual representation of how campaign contributions from individuals to presidential candidates are distributed by state and by zip code. Ignore that the U.S. seems to have contracted blue measles and take a look at the map!

I'd also call your attention to the information to the right of the map, which lists the amount contributed to candidates by range of gift (over $200, the disclosure threshold for individual itemization) -- contributions of $2000 and above equal an amount nearly double that of all gifts from $200 to $1,999 -- and represent 66% of the total money raised from individuals thus far. That's a big chunk of big money.

This is good information to have, and in a very user-friendly format. Thumbs up for the FEC!